Method and apparatus for dissipating heat from an electronic device

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for dissipating heat from an electronic device is described. The method and apparatus provides a scalable, cost effective, highly efficient, universally applied thermal solution for high heat generating electronic components. In one embodiment, a housing attaches over a heat sink for an electronic device. Various cooling attachments can be attached to this housing to provide a multitude of air flow enhancers. The cooling attachments are designed to provide a thermal engineer or a system integrator with several options for cooling an electronic component. The cooling attachments can be placed in multiple configurations to provide unique thermal solutions. In another embodiment, a kit of parts for a cooling system is provided. The kit of parts includes a housing and a variety of cooling attachments.

RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.09/615,922 filed on Jul. 13, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,940,716, which isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of electronicdevices and, in particular, the present invention relates to thermalmanagement of electronic devices.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices dissipate heat during operation. Thermal managementrefers to the ability to keep temperature-sensitive elements in anelectronic device within a prescribed operating temperature. Thermalmanagement has evolved to address the increased temperatures createdwithin such electronic devices as a result of increased processingspeed/power of the electronic devices. Historically, electronic deviceswere cooled by a natural convection thermal management technique. Thatis, the cases or packaging of these prior art electronic devices weredesigned with openings (e.g., slots) strategically located to allow warmair to escape and cooler air to be drawn in.

However, with the advent of high performance processors such as theIntel Itanium® processor, electronic devices have required moreinnovative thermal management. For example, in the last several yearsprocessing speeds of computer systems have climbed from 25 MHZ to over1000 MHZ. Each of these increases in processing speed and powergenerally carry with it a “cost” of increased heat dissipation.Corresponding improvements in thermal management technology accompanied,out of necessity, such technological improvements. Natural convectionwas no longer sufficient to provide proper thermal management.

Several methods have been employed for cooling high performanceelectronic devices such as processors. A common method of cooling such aprocessor is by the use of a fan heat sink. FIG. 1A is a diagram of aprior art fan heat sink 100. As shown in FIG. 1A, an axial fan 102 isattached by a fan holder 104 to a heat sink 106 atop a processor. Thefan heat sink 100 blows air across the heat sink 106 to remove the heatdissipated by the processor. To date, the best fan heat sinks are notthermally efficient enough to cool the new higher powered processors.One reason that previous fan heat sinks are not thermally efficient isthat the fan forces air down on the processor. One problem with a fanthat is positioned atop a heat sink, such as in FIG. 1A, is that the fanis too closely located to the fins of the heat sink to generate fullydeveloped air flow. There is a dead space in the air flow which iscaused by the fan hub. A fan heat sink such as the fan heat sink shownin FIG. 1A is not capable of providing fully developed air flow.

Another approach to cooling high performance processors is the use ofpassive heat sinks in combination with an axial system fan. One of theproblems with the use of a large system fan is blowby. As used herein,the term “blowby” refers to air that is moved by a fan, but does notpass through the fins of a heat sink or over the electronic componentitself. For example, when a large system fan is used in conjunction witha heat sink to cool an electronic component, a large percentage of theair moved by the system fan does not go through the heat sink. As aresult, large system fans are not an efficient thermal solution forcooling a specific electronic component. Furthermore, some of these newhigh performance systems require multiple fans to maintain properoperating temperatures. However, the additional fans necessary forprevious forced-air cooling systems result not only in an added expensefor manufacturers of such electronic devices, but are often bulky andrequire an inordinate amount of real estate within the chassis. Anotherproblem with the use of multiple system fans is the noise generated bythe fans.

In recent years, power dissipation from components in a computer systemchassis has increased in small increments for most computer systemcomponents except for processors. FIG. 1B is a bar graph comparing thepower dissipation for various computer system components designed in1999 and 2000. As shown in FIG. 1B, power dissipation for hard drives,memory, and chipsets designed in 2000 increased by only a few wattscompared to similar components designed in 1999. Yet, even for computersystems designed in 2000, the power dissipation for each of thefollowing is still under 20 Watts: hard drives, memory, chipsets andadd-in cards. However, the power dissipated by a high performanceprocessor has nearly doubled between 1999 and 2000 (as indicated by thearrow 108 in FIG. 1B). For example, in 1999 the power dissipation for aprocessor was generally between 30 and 40 watts. However, the powerdissipation for some high performance processors currently beingdesigned is as much as 70 watts. As shown in FIG. 1B, the powerdissipation from processors has increased by about 30 watts in a oneyear period. Furthermore, it is anticipated that in future years thepower dissipation of processors will increase even more dramatically.

The cooling systems currently being used, such as fan heat sinks andlarge system fans as described above, are not sufficient to effectivelycool such high performance processors. What is needed is a thermalsolution to provide high performance cooling for particular electroniccomponents with disproportionately higher power dissipation.

For these and other reasons, there is a need for a heat dissipationdevice to efficiently dissipate the heat generated by high performanceelectronic devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a prior art fan heat sink.

FIG. 1B is a bar graph comparing the power dissipation for variouscomputer system components designed in 1999 and 2000.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of one embodiment of an apparatus fordissipating heat from an electronic device.

FIG. 2B is an exploded view of the embodiment of the apparatus shown inFIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of cooling attachments comprising a kit ofparts for an electronic component cooling system according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are side views of two example configurations of thehousing shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of an example embodiment of an apparatusfor cooling an electronic device.

FIG. 5B is an exploded view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of an apparatuswhich utilizes redundant fans for cooling an electronic device.

FIG. 6B is an exploded view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of an apparatuswhich utilizes a system fan for cooling an electronic device.

FIG. 7B is an exploded view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an example embodiment of an apparatuswith two electronic components in an in-line configuration.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the apparatusin FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a dual processor configuration in whicheach processor housing is coupled to an air duct for fresh air intake.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of the invention reference is madeto the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which isshown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which theinvention may be practiced. In the drawings, like numerals describesubstantially similar components throughout the several views. Theseembodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilledin the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments may be utilized,and structural, logical, and electrical changes may be made, withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

A method and apparatus for dissipating heat from an electronic device isdescribed. The method and apparatus efficiently dissipates the heatgenerated by high performance electronic devices.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of one embodiment of an apparatus fordissipating heat from an electronic device. The apparatus fordissipating heat 200 shown in FIG. 2A comprises a housing 202 and an airmoving device 203.

The housing 202 is adapted to be closely fitted to a heat sink. Thehousing 202 has a first end 204 and a second end 206. The first end 204is adapted to hold an air moving device 203. In one embodiment, thehousing 202 attaches to a processor socket. In one embodiment, variouscooling attachments can be attached to the first end 204 and the secondend 206 of the housing 202 to provide a multitude of thermal solutionsfor high performance electronic devices.

The air moving device 203 is adapted to be coupled to the first end 204of the housing 202. The air moving device 203 is used to move airthrough the housing 202. In some embodiments, the air moving device 203acts an exhaust and pulls air over the heat sink. In alternateembodiments, the air moving device 203 blows air over the heat sink. Inone embodiment, the air moving device 206 is any generally availableaxial fan. The diameter of the fan may be between about 20 millimetersand about 120 millimeters. In an example embodiment, a heat dissipationapparatus such as the apparatus 200 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B is capableof cooling about a 67 watt processor with a 60 millimeter fan. However,other comparable air moving devices may be employed instead of an axialfan without diverting from the scope of the invention. For example, ablower may be used as an air moving device.

FIG. 2B is an exploded view of the example embodiment of the apparatusshown in FIG. 2A. As shown in FIG. 2B, the apparatus for dissipatingheat 200 comprises a housing 202 and an air moving device 203 adapted tobe coupled to the housing 202. The housing 202 has a first end 204 and asecond end 206. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the housing202 is a single piece in which the air moving device 203 fits into.However, in alternate embodiments, the housing 202 is designed asmultiple pieces that fit together to form a housing.

The apparatus for dissipating heat shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B is thermallymore efficient than previous heat dissipation systems because theapparatus substantially eliminates blowby. The example embodiments ofthe apparatus for dissipating heat shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B (as well asin FIGS. 3-10) ensure that nearly all of the air that a fan is capableof moving is channeled through the fins of a heat sink. According toembodiments of the present invention, there is no place else for the airbeing moved by the fan to go, but through the fins of a heat sink. Incontrast, previous systems with large system fans create a large amountof airflow, but much of that airflow does not flow through the heatsink's fins. Thus, the present system substantially eliminates blowbyand, as a result, increases the thermal efficiency of the fan used tocool the electronic device. Furthermore, because the system uses a smallfan, this system is much quieter acoustically.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of interchangeable cooling attachmentscomprising a kit of parts for an electronic component cooling system. Inone embodiment, the kit of parts comprises a heat sink housing 314 andone or more interchangeable cooling attachments 302, 304, 306, 308, 310,312, 316, 318, 320, and 322 to provide a scalable and universallyapplied thermal solution for high heat generating electronic components.In one embodiment, the interchangeable cooling attachments 302, 304,306, 308, 310, 312, 316, 318, 320, and 322 are molded pieces of plastic.

In one embodiment, the one or more cooling attachments include one ormore housing air duct adapters 302, 304, 306, an air inlet chassisadapter 308, one or more housing fan adapters 310, 312, a housingconnector 316, one or more chassis fan adapters 318, 320, and a splitter322. The housing air duct adapters 302, 304, 306 are adapted to attachto the housing 314 and to receive an air duct such as an air duct in theshape of a hose (as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B). The first housing airduct adapter 302 is adapted to receive the air duct at about a 45 degreeangle. The second housing air duct adapter 304 is adapted to receive theair duct at about a 90 degree angle. The third housing air duct adapter306 is not angled.

The air inlet chassis adapter 308 is adapted to be secured to anexternal vent on the chassis. The air inlet chassis adapter 308 may besecured in any manner. In one example the air inlet chassis adapter 308is secured with an adhesive.

The fan housing adapters 310, 312 are adapted to attach to a heat sinkand to receive a fan. The first fan housing adapter 310 is an extendedholder that positions the fan at a distance from the heat sink thatachieves fully developed air flow (as shown in FIG. 4A). The second fanhousing adapter 312 is a contracted fan holder that positions the fancloser to the heat sink than the first fan housing adapter 310 (as shownin FIG. 4B).

The housing connector 316 is adapted to create a bridge between twohousings 314 when cooling multiple electronic devices positioned in anin-line configuration (such as shown in FIG. 8).

The chassis fan adapters 318, 320 are adapted to be secured to anexternal vent on the chassis and to be coupled to an air duct. A singlechassis fan adapter 318 allows air from a single air duct to ventoutside the chassis. A dual chassis fan adapter 320 allows air from twoair ducts to vent outside the chassis. In an alternate embodiment, thechassis fan adapters 318, 320 generate a flow of air from outside thechassis into the chassis and the electronic device cooling system.

The splitter 322 is adapted to couple a single air duct to dual airducts.

In one embodiment, the various cooling attachments 302, 304, 306, 308,310, 312, 316, 318, 320, 322 can be attached to the housing 314 toprovide a multitude of thermal solutions. The housing 314 may be shapedto fit over any size or shape heat sink.

A kit of parts for an electronic component cooling system may becomprised of any combination of one or more housings 314 and theinterchangeable cooling attachments 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 316,318, 320, 322 shown in FIG. 3. Furthermore, such a kit of parts is notlimited to the interchangeable cooling attachments shown in FIG. 3. Forexample, the kit of parts may also comprise one or more air ducts. Inone embodiment, the air ducts are in the form of a hose and have adiameter to match the diameter of the housing air duct adapters 302,304, 306. In another example, the kit of parts further comprises asecond housing 314 which is adapted to receive an air intake duct fromthe top of the housing. In this case the house has an opening on top foran air duct. An example embodiment of a housing with a top entry openingis shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B.

FIG. 4A is a side view of a housing 400 such as the housing shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B. The housing includes an extended fan holder 402. Theextended fan holder may be a separate part that attaches to the housing.Alternatively, the housing 400 is manufactured as a single partincluding the extended fan holder 402. When the extended fan holder 402is used in an apparatus for cooling an electronic device, the fan whichis held by the extended fan holder 402 achieves fully developed airflow. When using the extended fan holder 402, it is possible toadequately cool an electronic device at slower speeds because the fan isable to achieve fully developed air flow. The extended fan holder 402positions the fan at a distance from a heat sink enclosed by the housing400 that is about equal to the diameter of the fan.

FIG. 4B is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the housing 400shown in FIG. 4A. As shown in FIG. 4B, the housing 400 includes acontracted fan holder 404. Like the extended fan holder shown in FIG.4A, the contracted fan holder 404 may be a separate part that attachesto the housing or the contracted fan holder 404 may be formed as part ofthe housing. The contracted fan holder positions the fan at a distancefrom a heat sink enclosed by the housing 400 that is less than thediameter of the fan.

In one embodiment, an apparatus for dissipating heat from an electronicdevice is configured with either an extended fan holder according toFIG. 4A or a contracted fan holder according to FIG. 4B based on therequirements of the particular thermal situation and the space availablein a computer system chassis. In the example embodiment shown in FIG.4A, the extended fan holder 402 is 2.22 inches long and the total lengthof the housing with the extended fan holder 402 is 6.42 inches. In theexample embodiment shown in FIG. 4B, the contracted fan holder 404 isone-half inch shorter than the extended fan holder 402 in FIG. 4A. Thecontracted fan holder 404 is 1.72 inches long and the total length ofthe housing with the contracted fan holder 404 is 5.92 inches. Thus, useof the extended fan holder 402 takes up more space on a circuit board ina chassis and use of the contracted fan holder 404 requires less spaceon the circuit board in a chassis.

In one embodiment, a system integrator selects either an extended fanholder or a contracted fan holder from a kit of parts. The fan holderselected depends on the configuration of the circuit board and the spaceavailable around the electronic device to be cooled. In an alternateembodiment, a kit of parts such as in FIG. 3 includes an adjustable fanholder. When the apparatus for cooling an electronic device isassembled, the adjustable fan holder is adjusted to function as eitheran extended fan holder or a contracted fan holder based on spaceavailable around the electronic device to be cooled.

FIGS. 5-10 illustrate various configurations of housings andinterchangeable cooling attachments from the kit of parts shown in FIG.3. The invention is not limited to the configurations shown in FIGS.5-10. Alternate embodiments are contemplated having the interchangeablecooling attachments and one or more housings arranged in a multitude ofconfigurations.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of an example embodiment of an apparatusfor cooling an electronic device. In one embodiment, the apparatus 500shown in FIG. 5A comprises a housing 502, a fan 504, and an air duct506. The housing 502 is adapted to be closely fitted to a heat sink. Thehousing 502 contains and guides air movement through the plurality offins of a heat sink. The air moving device 504 is coupled to a first endof the housing 502. In one embodiment, the air moving device pulls airthrough the enclosure created by the housing and exhausts the air into achassis of a computer system. The air duct 506 directs air external tothe chassis to the housing 502. In one embodiment, the cool air intakeis any opening to the exterior of the chassis. The arrows in FIG. 5Aindicate that air enters the apparatus 500 through the air duct 506 andexits the apparatus 500 through the fan 504. By pulling air from theexterior of the chassis through the enclosure created by the housing502, unheated air passes over the electronic device and through the finsof the heat sink. In the embodiment, the air duct 506 and the housing502 channel air through the fins of the housing in a manner thatsubstantially reduces blowby.

FIG. 5B is an exploded view of one embodiment of the apparatus shown inFIG. 5A. As shown in FIG. 5B, the apparatus for cooling an electronicdevice 520 is comprised of a housing 522 and various cooling attachmentsselected from a kit of parts such as the kit of parts shown in FIG. 3.The various cooling attachments that are assembled to form the apparatus520 include an air inlet chassis adapter 524, an air duct 526, a housingair duct adapter 528, a housing fan adapter 530, and a fan 532.

The air inlet chassis adapter 524 is coupled to an opening in thechassis and to the air duct 526. The air duct 526 is also coupled to thehousing air duct adapter 528. The housing air duct adapter 528 iscoupled to the housing 522. The housing 522 is coupled to the housingfan adapter 530 and the housing fan adapter 530 holds the fan 532. Thehousing fan adapter 530 attaches to the housing 522 at the end oppositeof the housing air duct adapter 528.

In an example embodiment, the air duct 526 may be metal or plastic. Theair duct 526 may also be rigid or flexible. For example, in oneembodiment the air duct 526 takes the form of a flexible plastic hose.In another embodiment, such a flexible hose is also expandable. Forexample, the flexible hose is molded as an accordion-like plastic hose.The accordion-like hose has folds and bends to allow the hose to expandand contract as needed. The use of an expandable, flexible hose allowsan air duct to be added to a cooling system without having to modify theexisting computer system board layout. The expandable, flexible hose ismerely routed around the existing computer system components.

In one embodiment, the housing 522 clamps to a heat sink 534. Thehousing 522 contains and guides air movement through the plurality offins of the heat sink 534 which is thermally coupled to a processor 536.In one embodiment, the housing air duct adapter 528 and the housing fanadapter 530 function as end caps on the housing 522 to lock the housingin place so that the housing does not move horizontally on the heatsink. The various cooling attachments shown in FIG. 5B are for examplepurposes only. The apparatus for cooling an electronic device may beformed with additional or differing cooling attachments. For example, inan alternate embodiment, the housing air duct adapter 528, the housing522, and the housing fan adapter 530 are a single part.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of an apparatuswhich utilizes redundant fans for cooling an electronic device. In oneembodiment, the apparatus 600 shown in FIG. 6A comprises a housing 602,a first fan 604, a second fan (shown in FIG. 6B), and an air duct 608.The air duct 608 directs a flow of air external to the chassis to thehousing 602. The housing 602 is adapted to receive an air duct 608 fromthe top of the housing. The first fan 604 is coupled to a first end ofthe housing 602. The second fan is coupled to the second end of thehousing. In one embodiment, the first fan 604 and the second fan pullair through the enclosure created by the housing 602 and exhaust the airinto a chassis of a computer system. The arrows in FIG. 6A indicate thatair enters the apparatus 600 through the air duct 608. The air entersthe housing 602 in the middle and is exhausted out both sides of thehousing 602. As in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the air duct 608 and the housing 602channel air through the fins of the heat sink in a manner thatsubstantially reduces blowby.

FIG. 6B is an exploded view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 6A. As shownin FIG. 6B, the apparatus 620 for cooling an electronic device iscomprised of a top entry housing 622 and various cooling attachmentsfrom the kit of parts shown in FIG. 3. The various cooling attachmentsthat are assembled to form the apparatus 620 include an air inletchassis adapter 624, an air duct 626, a first housing fan adapter 628, afirst fan 630, a second housing fan adapter 632, and a second fan 634.

The air inlet chassis adapter 624 is coupled to an opening in thechassis and to the air duct 626 The air duct 626 is also coupled to thehousing 622 at the top entry. The first housing fan adapter 628 holdsthe first fan 630 and is coupled to the housing 622. The second housingfan adapter 632 holds the second fan 634 and is coupled to the end ofthe housing 622 that is opposite the first fan 630. The housing iscoupled to a processor and heat sink assembly 636.

An advantage of the configuration shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B is theexistence of redundant fans. Redundant fans are particularly useful forredundant cooling in computer systems such as servers. In such systems,the first fan and the second fan both operate under normal operatingconditions. However, if one of the fans fails, the other fan alone isadequate to cool the electronic device. Thus, in a redundant coolingsituation, the dual fans provide twice the cooling capacity normallyneeded in case one of the fan fails.

The configuration in FIGS. 6A and 6B is also useful for extremely highpowered processors. For situations of extreme heat dissipation, two fansmay be necessary to cool an electronic device. For example, in the nextdecade it is anticipated that high performance processors may have powerdissipation levels of 100-200 watts or even more.

The redundant fan configuration is not limited to the example embodimentshown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. For example, in an alternate embodiment thetwo exhaust fans draw air that is internal to the chassis through anopening on the top of the housing. In this example, the air duct shownin FIGS. 6A and 6B is omitted. This example configuration is applicableif the internal ambient air temperature in the chassis is adequate forcooling the processor. In another alternate embodiment, a housing withtop entry and an air duct coupled to the top entry of the housing isused with a single fan and an end cap on the opposite end rather thanwith redundant fans.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of an example embodiment of an apparatuswhich utilizes a system fan for spot cooling of an electronic device. Inone embodiment, the apparatus 700 shown in FIG. 7A comprises a housing702, a first air duct 704, a second air duct 706, and a chassis fanadapter 708. The chassis fan adapter 708 fits over a system fan. Thechassis fan adapter 708 allows the system fan to be used to generate aflow of air through the fins of a heat sink. The system fan may be usedto either exhaust or to pressurize the housing 702. The first air duct704 may be attached to any air flow inlet or outlet in the chassis of acomputer system.

FIG. 7B is an exploded view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 7A. As shownin FIG. 7B, the apparatus for cooling an electronic device 720 iscomprised of a housing 722 and various cooling attachments from the kitof parts shown in FIG. 3. The various cooling attachments that areassembled to form the apparatus 720 include an air inlet chassis adapter724, a first air duct 726, a first housing air duct adapter 728, asecond housing air duct adapter 730, a second air duct 732, and achassis fan adapter 734.

The air inlet chassis adapter 724 is coupled to an opening in thechassis and to the first air duct 726. The first air duct 726 is alsocoupled to the first housing air duct adapter 728. The first housing airduct adapter 728 is coupled to the housing 722. The second housing airduct adapter 730 is coupled to the end of the housing 722 that isopposite the first housing air duct adapter 728. The housing is alsocoupled to a processor and heat sink assembly 736. The second housingair duct adapter 730 is coupled to a second air duct 732. The second airduct 732 is coupled to the chassis fan adapter 734. The embodiment shownin FIGS. 7A and 7B allows air moved by a system fan to be channeled to asingle device for high performance spot cooling.

The example embodiments shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 illustrate anapparatus for cooling multiple electronic devices. FIG. 8 is aperspective view of an example embodiment of an apparatus 800 with twoprocessors in an in-line configuration. The apparatus 800 shown in FIG.8 comprises an air duct 802 coupled to a housing connector 804. Thehousing connector 804 couples a first housing 806 fitted over a firstprocessor and a second housing 808 fitted over a second processor. Afirst housing fan adapter 810 is coupled to the first housing 806. Thefirst housing fan adapter 810 holds a first fan (not shown) whichexhausts heated air from the first housing 806 into the system chassis.Likewise, the second housing fan adapter 812 is coupled to the secondhousing 808 which holds a second fan (also not shown). The second fanexhausts heated air from the second housing 808 into the computer systemchassis.

The example embodiment shown in FIG. 8 provides exhaust fans on eachside of a single air intake. This example embodiment allows fordifferent processor configurations than in prior systems. In prior dualprocessor systems, it was not desirable to have processors in-line withone another because of a shadowing effect. Shadowing refers to effectthat occurs when air flows in the same direction over processors in anin-line configuration. When the processors are positioned in-line withone another, heat is dissipated from the first processor into the airflow that is then used to cool the second processor. Prior systemstypically staggered the processors to avoid a shadowing effect. However,one of the advantages of some embodiments of an apparatus for cooling anelectronic component of the present invention is that multipleprocessors can be placed in-line with one another. This allows greaterflexibility in the design and layout of integrated circuit boards.

In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the apparatus for cooling anelectronic device 800 is assembled from two housings and various coolingattachments from the kit of parts shown in FIG. 3. In another alternateembodiment, the apparatus shown in FIG. 8 can be expanded to cool fourprocessors by using four fans and a single duct entering in the middleof the configuration provided that the duct is large enough to generateenough air flow to adequately cool four processors.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of an apparatus900 with two processors in an in-line configuration. The apparatus 900shown in FIG. 9 comprises an air intake duct 902 coupled to a housingconnector 904. The housing connector 904 couples a first housing 906fitted over a first processor and a second housing 908 fitted over asecond processor. A first housing air duct adapter 910 is coupled to thefirst housing 906. The first housing air duct adapter 910 is coupled toa first air exhaust duct 918. Likewise, the second housing air ductadapter 912 is coupled to a second air exhaust duct 914. The first airexhaust duct 918 and the second air exhaust duct 914 are coupled to achassis fan adapter 916. The chassis fan adapter 916 allows a system fan(not shown) to be used to exhaust heated air from the first housing 906and the second housing 908 through the first air exhaust duct 918 andthe second air exhaust duct 914 respectively.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a dual processor configuration in whicheach processor housing is coupled to its own air duct for fresh airintake. In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 10, two separateintegrated circuit cooling systems are utilized. Each one of theintegrated circuit cooling systems comprises a comprises a housing, afan, and an air duct. In one embodiment, each one of the cooling systemsare assembled as shown in FIG. 5B.

An apparatus for dissipating heat from an electronic component accordingto embodiments of the present invention is not limited to theconfigurations shown above. Alternate embodiments are contemplatedhaving the interchangeable cooling attachments and one or more housingsarranged in a multitude of configurations. Such alternate embodimentsinclude any means to generate air flow through a plurality of fins of aheat sink. Such alternate embodiments further include any means tocontain and guide air movement through the plurality of fins of a heatsink such that the means substantially eliminates blowby. Such alternateembodiment may also include any means to direct air external to achassis to the means to contain and guide air movement.

The example embodiments described above are not shown in a systemchassis. However, a processor cooling system according to any of theexample embodiments described above may be incorporated into a wellknown computerized system including a chassis, an integrated circuitboard mounted in the chassis, and one or more processors coupled to theintegrated circuit board.

Furthermore, a system integrator is likely to add a processor coolingsystem to such a well known computerized system using a kit of partssuch as the kit of parts described by reference to FIG. 3. In oneembodiment, a system integrator performs a method of assembling acooling system for an integrated circuit by closely coupling a housingto a heat sink for an integrated circuit and by coupling a fan to thehousing. The system integrator may also couple one or more coolingattachments to the housing. One of the advantages of a method ofassembling a cooling system using a kit of parts as described herein isthat a cooling system can be assembled for use with a variety ofindustry standard integrated circuit boards from a single kit. Thecooling system is assembled by selecting the appropriate coolingattachments based on the space available on the integrated circuit boardand the particular thermal situation. The kit also allows the coolingsystem to be added after the chassis is assembled.

In one embodiment, the operation of such a cooling system provides amethod of cooling an integrated circuit by generating a flow of externalambient air through an air duct to a housing closely fitted over a heatsink. The method further includes drawing the flow of external ambientair over the heat sink.

The example embodiments described above provide a scalable, costeffective, highly efficient, universally applied thermal solution forhigh heat generating electronic components. In one embodiment, aprocessor heat sink housing attaches over a heat sink and attaches to aprocessor socket. Various cooling attachments can be attached to thisprocessor heat sink housing to provide a multitude of flow enhancers.These components also provide commonly available mechanical featuresthat lock the assembly in place. The cooling attachments are designed toprovide a thermal engineer with several options for cooling anelectronic component. Example embodiments utilizing a “Lego” type set ofcomponents that can be placed in multiple configurations provide uniquethermal solutions.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to beillustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will beapparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the abovedescription. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determinedwith reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

1. An integrated circuit cooling system comprising: means to generate aflow of air through a plurality of fins of a heat sink; and means tocontain and guide the follow of air through the plurality of fins of theheat sink wherein the means to contain and guide the follow of airsubstantially eliminates blowby; an interchangeable cooling attachmentto couple the means to generate the flow of air to the means to containand guide the follow of air; wherein the interchangeable coolingattachment positions the means to generate the flow of air at a distancefrom the means to contain and guide the follow of air that is aboutequal to or less than a diameter of the means to generate the flow ofair.
 2. The integrated circuit cooling system of claim 1 furthercomprising means to direct air external to a chassis to the means tocontain and guide the follow of air.
 3. The integrated circuit coolingsystem of claim 1 wherein the means to generate the flow of air exhauststhe means to contain and guide the follow of air.
 4. The integratedcircuit cooling system of claim 1 wherein the means to generate the flowof air pressurizes the means to contain and guide the follow of air.